Opera review

A bland witches’ ride over Sankt Gallen

Theater Sankt Gallen has "Hansel and Gretel" on the program until March.

(Bild: Ludwig Olah)

The Theater Sankt Gallen is presenting a new production of Engelbert Humperdinck's fairytale opera "Hansel and Gretel" just in time for the start of the pre-Christmas season.

Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world, and none of the many more recent children's operas have been able to challenge its status. Musically, it manages the balancing act between a large orchestra in the style of Richard Wagner, but also incorporates many children's songs. Whether the story of the malnourished brother and sister who get lost in the forest and finally arrive at the witch's house is still fascinating for children and young people in our cultural sphere is something that needs to be investigated, as is whether the idea of director Guta Rau and her set design team of using paper-cut video clips to pick up the young audience where they already spend far too much time, namely in worlds of images and video.

The production was not very convincing.

(Bild: Ludwig Olah)

The dull applause at the premiere when the leading team appeared rather suggests the opposite. In terms of ingenuity, this production also falls far short of the previous works of the young Munich-based Guta Rau, "The Magic Flute" and "Die Fledermaus". The fact that the video witch rides over St. Gallen on a vacuum cleaner and not on a broom certainly elicits a smile, but the witch's house in the third act in candy colors and with donuts instead of gingerbread along with the witch, sung by Riccardo Botta - all of this is simply bland.

The singing of the other protagonists also leaves something to be desired: too dramatic (Libby Sokolowski as the mother), too loud (Vincenzo Neri as the father) or too unbalanced (Kali Hardwick as Gretel). Mack Wolz as Hansel, on the other hand, is a joy, but Anna Mahon as the Sandman and Taumännchen is the most enjoyable. This New Zealander, who normally sings in the opera choir, sings with the beautiful sound and sophistication that one would like to hear from everyone. The young conductor Jamie Philips still has some fine-tuning to do with this ensemble, but he guides the Sankt Gallen Symphony Orchestra well through the demanding score. Recommended for ages eight and up, performances until March 2025.